My confession to you is this: I do not like feet.
But here I sit writing to you about feet – more specifically, the humble pinky toe. I understand it might seem strange and off the topic of spiritual gifts in the Body of Christ but stay with me! To me, feet (unless they belong to my children) don’t hold much comeliness, and I’m not sure (no matter how glamorously made up) I’ve ever once thought, “Wow! Those are some beautiful feet!” Shoes? Now shoes can be cute, but what do shoes do? Cover up your feet! That’s how I would prefer feet – covered up by something and not thought of much at all.
“If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?” 1 Corinthians 12:15
As we read through 1 Corinthians 12, we are given an analogy we can all relate to in a vary intimate way. Believers and followers of Jesus Christ are likened to our bodies in both make-up and function. Most of us have a basic biological understanding of the human body. The members, or parts that comprise our bodies are responsible for very specific tasks, and through them we experience life. Our God given gift of a brain gives us the ability to think, move, speak and breathe to keep us alive and present in the world around us. Through the functions of our body, God allows us to experience senses like touch and smell. Through maturity of our minds, gifts and talents develop that are designed to give Him glory. Even if we don’t understand all our inner workings, we know that every part of our body has, or has had some function in maintaining our lives as physical human beings – no matter how small. Enter, the pinky toe.
The little toe, pinky toe, or the little piggy that ran all the way home – whatever you call it, you know that it is typically the smallest of the toes that comprise each of your feet. Could you possibly miss the littlest piggy of the bunch? Well, as it turns out, our pinky toes do have a purpose and God’s design of five toes on a foot affects the entire body in ways I didn’t even totally realize before sitting down to write. The little toe provides the body with balance and helps the whole body with movement. Injury or amputation of the pinky toe can lead to a greater risk of falling due to imbalance and will noticeably affect your gait while walking or running. The pinky toe provides us with a complete tripod, teaming up with our heel and big toe on each foot by which our entire body balances. Injuring this little piggy is also associated with a great deal of pain due to high amounts of blood and muscle contained in the toe. So that’s why it’s no joke when you stub your little toe! In short, it may be a little toe, but it serves a big role that affects the whole body. *
Now let’s get back to the spiritual side of this abbreviated biology lesson. As a member in the body of Christ, we all serve a specific and God given role. God has designed His body to function much the same way our individual bodies do. “For the body is not one member, but many.” (vs. 14) Maybe it is easy for you, Dear Sister, to see how the other members function in the Body. You see others using their gifts and talents to glorify God and bless others but struggle to know where your place is and what you possibly could contribute to furthering Christ’s Kingdom. Maybe if you were asked what member you are, you would consider yourself a small, unimportant one with no extraordinary gifts. You may be tempted to think the Body of Christ could function just fine without you. Kind of like our initial assessment of our pinky toes, right? Sister, be assured of this one truth: that all members of Christ’s Body have a place in the body, and your place is vitally important to the wellbeing of all it’s members.
“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it;” (vs. 26, my emphasis added)
If you struggle in identifying what your gifts are and how to use them, start with acknowledging your identity in Christ. We can fall into the trap of Satan by comparing our gifts to those of other Sisters whose gifts and talents seem to so naturally flow from them. Although the other members of the Body affect our own function, we are not defined by the role other members serve. We cannot listen to the lie that others, or even God looks at us and considers us worthless. “And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.” (vs. 21). When our identity in Christ’s Body is secure in our own hearts as it is in His, we find that our membership in the Body takes on an importance that compels us to “covet earnestly the best gifts” (vs. 31) to be a glory to Him and a help to our neighbor. While it is true that the body can function without a little toe, there is significant handicap to the body when this occurs. Let us strive to be the best pinky toe we can be by maintaining our own spiritual health and growing in our relationship with God.
Dear Sister, whether you read this as a pinky toe, a heart, a kidney or a hand, know that you are precious to the Body and most of all, to the Creator of the Body. He has a purpose for you and desires that you serve Him in the role He has planned just for you. The sacrifice of Jesus secured each one of us our place in the Body and we are required to humbly submit to Christ’s calling to take up our cross and follow Him. “Stepping out” in faith, we then can experience the blessing of our spiritual gifts given to us for use in the Body of Christ by seeing how He works though those gifts to give us function and purpose – including the pinky toe. Even as a pinky toe, you have the God given ability to bring balance and stability to the Body of Christ.
Erica lives with her husband David in Congerville, IL with their three children: Josiah (5), Jonan (3), and Emily (16 months). They enjoy traveling together (with and without kids), as well as a mutual love of history, cultures and food (and of course, each other). Erica is also a co-editor for the Titus 2 Ministries Newsletter.* It’s a busy season of life with three young children, but though the days may be long, these precious years are short! To God be the Glory!
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